Since the early 80's, stained glass has played a part as my muse and mentor, mediating the dialogue between my inner self and the outer world.

From the point of inspiration, through the act of putting pencil to paper, and on into the vision of adapting colors and textures into the craft of rendering, shaping and assembling, my stained glass works can range from flights of fanciful whimsy as an expression of the moment, to an esoteric essay of one's place on this mortal coil.

Having escaped from the confines of historical tradition,

while still being bound by the innate laws of the same materials used throughout history,

each window, lamp, terrarium, chime or mobile,

is visual poetry,

a sonnet

a meditation

shining through its own luminous self.

Stained glass is known as the art that requires the patience of a saint.

and sometimes the vocabulary of a sailor...

You cannot demand of glass, you can only invite it for a dance and permit it to lead when it chooses.

Commissions are inherently exciting.

The art of incorporating the ideas, thoughts and wishes of the client into a design concept, and then blending this inspiration with the themes, colors and ambience of the ultimate destination, and finally distilling these seeds into the artful creation of the piece,

gives my pencil a point to land on the paper. From then on, the drawing takes on a life of its own, and the dance between the artist and the art begins.

Non-commissioned pieces range from windows I create out of their relevance to me, usually inspired by a famous work;

to smaller items, such as sun catchers and chimes. Sun catchers such as my rainbow hearts, butterflies and spirals; Multi tiered wind-chime sculptures of shapes and colors, and repurposed glass art of earlier times, dishes, ornaments and bottles, reborn as chimes... my compass star designs---precision cut for identical shapes in a multitude of colors; all is

window jewelry.

Thank you Sariann VonBarthold, the adult-ed instructor in Battersea, London, all those years ago.